Summer weekends

I love summer weekends. This year especially they are great because we don't have a ton of weddings or events that book us up. So generally we can get up and decide what we want to do with our days. This weekend we did have a few events but also time for us.
Friday after work I went out for a couple of drinks at Jack Astor's with work people. Afterwards I met Raju at 7 Numbers on the Danforth for dinner. I wasn't very hungry so we shared calamari and salad and then I had a small spicy shrimp pasta while Raju had the lamb shank.
Saturday we woke up, I did a little bit of a workout and then we headed out to the movies to watch Inception. We hadn't planned on going to the IMAX viewing but got there with so much time and it was the earlier show that decided to spend the extra money and see it on the extremely large screen. Raju really liked it. I liked it too and it made you think a little, but it was also easy to follow. I found it was a simple concept made really well. It reminded me a bit of the Ocean's 11 movies (which I really liked).
Afterwards we popped into the mall, but didn't stay too long. It was crowded and they are 'revitalizing' so there is scaffolding everywhere. We decided to grab a bite to eat The Queen and Beaver pub on Elm street. While we waited for our food we played a game of Backgammon. I won, but it was very close.
We got home in time, to sit for a bit and then head to Di's house for her birthday BBQ. Gerwyn made Kalbi and it was deeeeeelicious!!!! It was nice to hang out and catch up and play with little Eric, but as the party was getting started, I was getting sleepy and came home.
Today I woke up and finally took my Mom out for her Mother's Day Tea. I stopped to pick up Camilla and my Dad and then get my Mom from the gym. We went to a place called Hy-Tea on the Pickering waterfront. It was a cute little family run restaurant. My Mom and I had the high tea while Camilla had a tomato salad and my Dad had soup. We started to look at pictures from all my parents trips they've been on recently but didn't get through them all.
I dropped Camilla at home, looked at her vacation pics and then headed back downtown.
At home, I spent some time with Professor Layton. I'm slowly making my way through all the puzzles and trying to solve the big mystery. Then it was time for dinner. Raju had gone out with friends and stopped at Cumbrae's on the way home. He got himself a steak and lamb for me. I made basmati rice with vegetables and sweet potato mash. I had been thawing out chicken so decided to make a recipe from the William Sonoma Italian Favourites Cookbook. Chicken Breasts, Italian style (pg. 218). Honestly they look like Chicken Schnitzel's to me.
I have also started reading another book called The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross. It's a chick lit book. At then end of each chapter there is a cupcake recipe. The first chapter the girl gets dumped by her fiance so the first cupcake recipe is titled 'Heartbreak with a Strawberry on Top'. It's all about the strawberries. I had to adjust the recipe as it was very dry when I mixed it together, so I added some milk and more yogurt to make it batter consistency. The icing is made with mashed strawberries so it has a nice pink colour. The cupcake on it's own it a bit bland and the icing on it's own is pretty sweet. Together they aren't bad. But probably not a recipe I'll make again. I'm taking them to work tomorrow, so we'll see what the verdict is there.